"Sing It Back" is a song written and performed by Irish-English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo

Moloko Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and music producer, producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their ...

( Róisín Murphy and Mark Brydon). It first appeared in its original version on Moloko's second album, '' I Am Not a Doctor'' (1998); it was released as a single on 8 March 1999, reaching number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. The song experienced chart success after it was

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ed by DJ Boris Dlugosch, peaking at number four in the UK in September 1999. Murphy had started writing the lyrics while clubbing in New York City, and knew the song was at heart a dance track, but the group wanted to record it in a different artistic fashion for its album version. Together with their record company they commissioned mixes by Todd Terry (who had turned Everything But the Girl's " Missing" into an international hit). Moloko was not satisfied with the Terry mix and had to convince their label Echo Records to put out the Dlugosch version instead. The remixed version was eventually featured on over 100 compilations. It was later added on Moloko's third album, '' Things to Make and Do'', after hitting the top ten on the UK Singles Chart. In 1999, it reached number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Dance Club Play chart. Its music video was directed by

Dawn Shadforth Dawn Shadforth (born 11 October 1973) is a British director of music videos, TV, and film and a visual artist. She was originally a fine artist making work with objects, light, video and sound. She won the Whitworth Young Contemporaries Award f ...

. As a form of

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...

for the remix, Moloko vocalist Róisín Murphy later co-wrote and appeared on Dlugosch's " Never Enough" single, starring in the video for that release as well.

Critical reception

Scottish '' Aberdeen Press and Journal'' viewed "Sing It Back" as a " Balearic hit". In her review of the '' I Am Not a Doctor'' album, Heather Phares from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described it as a "

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

torch song". '' Daily Record'' named it their best single since 1996's "Fun for Me". Stevie Chick from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, " Róisín Murphy, it must be said, has a remarkable voice, a chalky, skewed howl which can twist into a purr, a cry or a sexy growl. On 'Sing It Back', she's cast as

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

, all unquenchable lust, sly, coquettish snarls, a luxuriant, lingering sigh. What a shame it's wasted on some of the limpest, radio-friendly handbag tedium ever put on wax."

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by

. It features Moloko vocalist Róisín Murphy dancing alone in a metallic

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

dress, accompanied by psychedelic lighting effects. The video is featured on the DVD of Moloko's special edition of the '' Statues'' album. It was later made available on Moloko's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in 2016 and by late 2024, the video had generated more than 38 million views. Several live videos also exist, including one in the group's live concert movie ''11,000 Clicks'', a similar concert version from the Dutch '' Pinkpop'' broadcast and a

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

version featured on MTV Brasil. On 20 June 2003 the band appeared on BBC's '' Later... with Jools Holland'', and performed a version where Murphy finished head-first inside Brydon's

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Impact and legacy

In 2002, ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'' ranked "Sing It Back" number 905 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" and in 2004, the magazine featured it in their "The 1010 Songs You Must Own". In 2012, Australian music channel

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

ranked it number 887 in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2014, German '' Musikexpress'' ranked the song number 449 in their list of the "700 Best Songs of All-Time". In 2018, ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' featured "Sing It Back" in their list of "Vocal House: The 30 All-Time Biggest Anthems". In 2019,

Defected Records Defected Records, or simply Defected, is a British independent record label specialising in house music recordings, compilation albums, events, publishing, artist bookings and management. Defected is one of the longest running independent lab ...

featured it in their list of "17 Best Remixes Ever". In 2021,

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

featured the song in their "Official The Ibiza 500" at number 55. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song at 152 in its 2022 list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "Sing It Back" ( Tee's radio) – 3:25 # "Sing It Back" (Booker T Loco mix) – 5:21 # "Sing It Back" (DJ Plankton's Dub featuring Maurice) – 8:33 * UK CD2 # "Sing It Back" ( Boris Musical mix edit) – 4:38 # "Sing It Back" ( Herbert's Tasteful dub) – 5:38 # "Sing It Back" (Tee's Freeze mix) – 9:02 * UK 12-inch single :A. "Sing It Back" (Tee's Freeze mix) – 9:02 :B. "Sing It Back" (Boris Musical mix) – 9:19 * UK cassette single # "Sing It Back" (Boris Musical mix edit) – 4:38 # "Sing It Back" (Can 7 Supermarket mix edit) – 4:03 # "Sing It Back" (Tee's radio mix) – 4:23 * French CD single # "Sing It Back" (Boris Musical mix edit) – 4:38 # "Sing It Back" (Tee's radio) – 3:25 * German CD single # "Sing It Back" (Boris radio edit) – 3:35 # "Sing It Back" (Boris Musical mix) – 9:15 * Australian CD single # "Sing It Back" (Boris Dlugosch Musical mix edit) – 4:38 # "Sing It Back" (Can 7 Supermarket mix edit) – 4:03 # "Sing It Back" (Boris Dlugosch Musical mix) – 9:17 # "Sing It Back" (Tee's Freeze mix) – 9:02 # "Sing It Back" (Can 7 Supermarket mix) – 8:19

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers

* The mash-up compilation '' Mashed'' features a mash-up of "Sing It Back" and " Connection" by

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by guitarist/singer Justine Frischmann and drummer Justin Welch after their departure from Suede. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave musi ...

called "Sing Back Connection". * In 2012

Andy Caldwell Andy Caldwell is an American electronic house music DJ and producer. He became known through the San Francisco house scene in the early part of the 2000s, first as a member of the live house act Soulstice, and later as a solo artist. Caldwell ...

and Michael Teixeira collaborated on a cover, featuring vocals by Lisa Donnelly. * In 2015 the Swingrowers released an electro swing cover of the original. * In December 2017, Pete Tong released a version, featuring

Becky Hill Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of '' The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's " Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and rea ...

, on his album '' Ibiza Classics''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1998 songs 1999 singles Moloko songs The Echo Label singles Sire Records singles Warner Records singles Songs written by Róisín Murphy UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Mark Brydon